Sixteen
by Trunks Ichijouji
Summary: A teenage hlaf demon/half whitelighter is dropped into the lap of the Charmed ones to protect, and they have to convince her to the side of good before it's too late. *Finished*
1. Because...

It was around lunchtime, and someone knocked on the door of the manor. Piper got up from the kitchen table and answered it. Piper opened the door to see a woman in her late 40's there, in a white robe.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

"Are you Phoebe, Piper, and/or Paige?"

"I'm Piper."

"Ok, your shift starts now for about the next few days."

"Whoa… What shift?"

"Ask your white lighter, they'll explain."

A girl walked into the house. She looked about 15. She was wearing long, baggy, black pants, and a light blue shirt to match. Her hair was black with navy blue highlights.

"I'll see you in two days." The women said and orbed out of the doorway, out of sight. Piper stood there a while before walking into the living room to see the girl with her feet up, watching the TV.

"Hey, hey, hey, feet off the table and who are you?!?"

"Dee… your shift starts today…"

"Ok… what shift is this?"

"Geez… none of these witches these days read… I'll be upstairs."

Dee shimmered up to the top of the stairs, and walked to the left. Piper rubbed her eyes to make sure she had just seen what she thought she saw. A girl "shimmered" upstairs.

"What the… LEO!!!!" A few moments later, Leo orbed down.

"Yes Piper?"

"Who is this child in my house?"

"What child?"

"The child that just shimmered up my stairs…"

"Shimmered upstairs? Oooh, wait, Dee?"

"So you know this girl."

"Yeah, umm…"

"Is there something you forgot to mention to me?"

"No, no… ok. It's not an everyday conversation piece. The story is her mother was a white lighter, and her father is a demon. Of course the High Counsel, umm… that white lighter no longer serves really."

"Your point Leo."

"Ok, so the Elders knew they couldn't just give the child to her father because he was demon, and possessed a lot of power. And they couldn't just drop her off at the orphanage, the whole witch thing."

"So… they decided to let us take care of her?"

"Not exactly… every witch in the world takes a part in raising her. See, since she's half witch and half demon, she in turn has to choose which side she'll choose. That is by her 16th birthday."

"So I'm stuck with babysitting her for three days because someone else screwed up?!?"

"When you put it that way, it makes it seem like a bad thing…"

Piper and Leo turned around to see Dee standing there. Piper scrambled to find something to say in reply.

"Heeey… Dee is it?"

"Cut the chit-chat. Umm… I wanted to tell you you're out of soda."

"There was a full bottle in there this morning."

"Umm… well, between this morning and now, it's disappeared. Uh… no problem though."

Dee held out her hand and an orange soda can had appeared. She then shimmered back upstairs. Piper turned around with a peeved face and looked at Leo.

"Leo, we need to talk." Piper pulled Leo down to the basement.

"This is not going to work. I'm too busy for this." 

"Piper, you have to. You always have Phoebe and Paige."

"And she has powers?!?"

"Ok, so she has a few things…"

"Like…"

"Umm… the shimmering and the appearing of things."

"Anything else? You said it as if there's more."

"She can shoot energy balls."

"Let me get this straight. She has an equal amount of the power of all 3 of us combined and we're suppose to watch her?!?"

"Look, I've had her before. She's nice…"

"Why couldn't someone else take her right now. I mean, there are countless witches."

"No, it has to you guys."

"Because…."


	2. Welcome?

Thanks for the reviews. Oh, and yes, I am obsessed with orange soda. J

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It has to be you guys because she's turning 16 in two days."

"La-dee-da. So she wants us to be at the party?"

"No… ok. This child has amazing powers."

"Really? Figure that out on your own?"

"So, while we're rooting her to be on the side of good, some people could use her on the side of evil if you get my point."

            The basement door opens and Phoebe comes down. She eyed the two of them, trying to figure out whether they wanted some "alone time". 

"Hey guys… one question. Who's the girl upstairs eating the ice cream? And what are you doing in the basement?"

"You can take this one Leo. I got to go make sure she doesn't spill anything."

"Piper!"

            Piper ignored Leo's calls and walked back up to the living room. Leo sighed, and turned to Phoebe and began explaining to the situation. About five minutes later Phoebe walked upstairs into the guestroom, to see Dee watching TV.

"Hey, I don't remember us having this TV…"

"I improvised a little."

"Hi, I'm Phoebe."

"Dee. You umm… with Piper?"

"I'm her sister."

"Oh."

"So you'll be here a couple of days?"

"I guess, that's how it works."

"But there's something different this time though."

"You guys have a pool? 'Cause the last witch didn't had one."

"No… more like a yearly thing…"

"If you're referring to my birthday, you could say so."

"So you know we're here to protect you right?"

"You sure do show it."

"Oh, Piper?"

"Yeah. Just brought in the welcome wagon."

"She's just a little stiff about it all."

"Lovely…"

"So I guess I'll be seeing you around."

"Sure, yeah…"

            Paige walked in through the front door and dropped her bag on the floor. She headed upstairs towards her room, when she became aware how thirsty she was. She held out her hand and called out for a drink. A can of orange soda appeared.

"Hey, what happened to me soda?" Dee had shouted out.

            Paige froze in her tracks when she realized it wasn't Piper, or Phoebe. She immediately orbed up to the attic in panic. Piper yelled in alarm, only hearing Paige orbing in.

"AHH! Oh, Paige. Thought you were a demon of some sort."

"Piper. Did you know there's someone or something in this house?"

"Oh, Dee?"

"What's a Dee?"

"No, the girl in the guest room. That's her name."

"Ooh… I should've realized demons don't care about soda."

"What?"

"Never mind… Umm… do I have to ask what she's here for?"

"Oh, she'll be here for about 3 days. We have to 'protect' her."

"What do you mean 'protect' her?"

"This child has more power than all three of us combined but we have to babysit her."

"Ok, umm… I guess I'll be around then."

            Paige walked out of the attic and headed towards the guest room. She knocked on the door before entering.

"Hey, sorry about the soda." Paige said, as she handed the soda to Dee.

"That's ok. Not everyday it just disappears out of my hands."

"I'm Paige."

"Oh, Dee."

"What are you watching?"

"Invader Zim."

"Cool…"

            There was an awkward silence that flowed through the room.

"I guess I'll be down the hall upstairs then."

"C-ya"

            Paige waved her hand and walked out to her room.


	3. No Club Tonight

            It was nighttime and Piper was in the kitchen cooking, when Phoebe walked in. She sat down at the counter, her head in her hand.

"Okay… Almost done. Wait, do you she's allergic to anything?" Piper asked.

"No, hope not."

"Phoebe, you'll be home tonight right? Because I'm going to be at the club tonight."

"Yeah, no problem."

"Good. Tell Paige and Dee dinner's ready."

"K."

            Phoebe walked to Paige room and Dee's room and told them. About two minutes later, Paige came walking into the dining room.

"Where's Dee?"

            Moments later, she shimmered downstairs, as if in mid walk, and sat down.

"Hey"

"Hey"

"Hello"

"Hi"

            The moment of silence was extremely uncomfortable. Everyone just sat there looking at one another, trying to think of something to say until Dee broke the silence.

"Soo… when you guys said dinner, did you mean food, or sitting in silence?"

"Uh, food of course." Piper replied, "Ok, so tonight Phoebe will be here, and Paige will be?"

"Here…" Paige said.

"I was thinking of going to go to a club tonight. You know, get some fresh air." Dee announced. 

            All three sisters looked up at Dee, and then looked at Piper. They knew that that wouldn't be possible, considering there was too much evil running around after her.

"Oh, nooo. No. I can see danger written all over this. You've got to be kidding me. I'm sorry but no."

"But Piper…" Dee began to protest.

"Nope."

"Well… what am I going to do all night?"

"You could study spells and potions, you know, like witches usually do."

"You just have fun don't you?"

"Yeah, vanquishing _demons_…"

"PIPER!" Phoebe yelled, trying to interrupt the rising feud. "Don't you have to be at work by 9, because it's 8:30."

"Yeah, I do. I'll be back late tonight." Piper got up to leave. "Bye."

            Piper glared evilly at Dee, and left. Phoebe and Paige looked at each other probing for something to say. Phoebe finally spoke up.

"You know, Piper's right. It is too dangerous. But umm… Paige and I are here all night."

"I know, but I think I'd rather just stay upstairs, in my room, alone."

"Hey, don't think of hopping out the window. I can scry for you."

"Heh, yeah… I'll be upstairs."

            Dee stood up, pushed in her chair, and shimmered upstairs. Paige and Phoebe looked at each other, wondering if they had done the right thing.

"Do you think she'll leave anyway?"

"I don't know Paige, I hope not though. If she does, and Piper finds out, we're going to have to protect her from Piper, more so than demons."

"Yeah…" 

            About 3 hours later, Phoebe was walking towards Dee's room to check in her. She had been very quiet, and hadn't come back down the entire night. Phoebe was starting to suspect that she had snuck out the window. As she was heading down the hall, a demon shimmered in and grabbed her.

"Paige!!"

            Phoebe had managed to yell out before she was knocked unconscious. Paige came running into the hall to see Phoebe being held up by a demon. Dee was also startled by the scream and also ran into the hallway. Three more demons had showed up and one was now holding down Paige. Dee had charged up a fireball when someone had yelled stop. Dee's face went blank, as the demon who had yelled, stepped forward.

"Dad?"

"So you do know me…"

"Sure, only as Shabneth though. Or should it be father?"

            The fireball had disappeared from Dee's hand. She stood there in a minor shock. Phoebe was just lying there motionless. A demon shimmered behind Dee and grabbed her.

"Don't even think about fighting or one of these witches die. We wouldn't want that would we?"

"Well aren't you father of the year. You show up once in a while, and for what? To kidnap me. What a great dad you are."

"Shut up! Just shut her up, and let's go."

            The demon holding Dee, shoot a low energy ball into Dee's back. Dee dropped to the ground.

"Noo!!"

"Shut up witch!"

            Paige then orbed out of the hold of the demon, and reappeared about four feet away. It was too late though. The demon had picked up Dee and shimmered away. Shabneth shot a energy ball at Paige, hitting her in the arm, and shimmered away.

"Phoebe? PHOEBE!? LEO! LEO!!"

            Leo orbed down next to Phoebe.

"My god, what happened?"

"Some demons showed up, knocked Phoebe unconscious, and took Dee. Then Dee's father, I think his name is Shabneth, shot an energy ball at me."

            The demon had hit Phoebe over the head, and the cut was trickling blood. Leo healed Phoebe head, and then began to heal Paige. Phoebe came around.

"Where's Dee?" Phoebe asked, slowly sitting up.

"They took her." Paige replied, kind of grimly 

"This is not good. Dee's father is involved? Not good at all. This is why we gave her to you guys. So she'd be protected." Leo said, helping Phoebe stand up.

"That's not helping Leo. Do you think we don't feel guilty enough? What do we do now?"

"Ok… We have about 24hours to find Dee before it's too late. Call Piper, and I'll go talk to the elders."

            With Paige and Phoebe fully healed, Leo orbed away. Phoebe jogged downstairs and called Piper, who arrived home about fifteen minutes later.


	4. She returns...

            Dee awoken on her back, bound to a table by her hands and feet. She was still a little groggy, and the pain from the energy ball was still there. She realized that she was in the underworld, inside a cave with torches dimly lighting the place. She looked around as much as she could, seeing nothing at all. She began to her voices getting louder. Shadow reflections were produced on the cave wall. She began to concentrate on them, when she noticed that they were moving towards her.

"So, my little princess has awaken…"

            It was Shabneth with someone else not known to her, who had walked in.

"Heh, like you really care about me. An energy ball to the back isn't how you show your love." Dee smirked back.

"You know, I must admit that was kind of harsh. But I just had to do something to get you away from those evil withes."

"Evil? Look who's talking."

"Do you think those witches really care about you?"

"More than you ever did…"

"They're just using you. If you turn good, that's just one less demon to vanquish."

"That's not true…"

"Don't lie to yourself. You can't honestly say they all want you to be there, babysitting you 24 hours a day."

            The thought passed through Dee's head. "Had they really cared about me or am I just another demon to them? Another thing on the list they don't have to vanquish? No… they do care… I think. They would've come after me by now if they did. Or maybe they're working on a way right now."

            Dee's mind was too confused to figure out who was really the person to trust. Both sides had something to gain. Dee's powers would benefit someone either way. She was more of a prize, a trophy to them.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Shabneth asked Dee.

"Why should I? You have something to gain also."

"I knew it. That's why I brought Xellos here. She'll show you what I say is not a lie."

"Oh, am I supposed to believe her? Obviously you think I'm that stupid."

"No, she can let you see what the Charmed ones are doing right now. You'll see."

            Shabneth nodded to Xellos, the other demon that had accompanied him into the room. Xellos waltz over to Dee, and stood behind her. She placed her hands on the sides of Dee's hand, and began projecting into her mind.

****

            The three Charmed Ones were sitting in the living room. Phoebe and Paige were sitting in the couch. Leo and Piper were sitting in the recliner chair together.

"I can't believe that I left you guys alone with that little demon." Piper said angrily, "Phoebe nearly dies because of it. Paige was lucky."

"Now Piper, that's not fair." Leo interjected.

"What's not fair Leo? The fact that we put our lives on the line for that, that…"

"But Piper, she has to much power to be left to evil. We need to at least get her to our side. After that…" Leo just shrugged his shoulders, "Who cares?"

"I was going to offer to take her to a club with me, but why I thought, why do you than you have to?" Phoebe added.

"I tried to be nice to her, but what do you get? Nothing." Paige said, "You know, if she wasn't worth that much, I could care less what happened to her."

"Amen to that" They'd all agreed.

****

            The image had ended, and Dee had opened her eyes again. Her fears had been confirmed. They didn't really care about her, just her abilities, and that angered her.

"I can see in your eyes that you believe me now." Shabneth had said.

"Kind of, what do I do now?" Dee asked.

"You'll return to the manor."

"What? I don't want to go back to them."

"I know but they'll come looking for you, and we don't need that. Just return to them, and act as if nothing changed. I'll come for you. But I must warn you that if you choose their path, you'll die."

            Shabneth waved his hand and the ropes untied themselves, releasing Dee from captivity. She sat up, and jumped off the table. She eyed her father and Xellos one last time, and shimmered back to the manor. Dee was back in her room, at the manor. She didn't want to bother with telling the others that she was home. She didn't like them as it was, so why should she put their mind at ease that she was safe?

            The Charmed Ones, and Leo were all downstairs in the kitchen. Paige was at the table scrying for Dee, considering she was half demon. Phoebe was in the corner writing a spell to vanquish Shabneth, and Piper was cooking up a potion to hopefully hurt him.

"Hey, did you guys hear that?" Paige asked the others.

            She had heard Dee come in upstairs, but wasn't sure if she wasn't just hearing things. Everyone glanced around, then looked back at Paige.

"Yeah, I did actually." Leo responded.

"Wait, I got something. Dee is located at… that's funny, it's saying she's in the house."

            Everyone looked at Paige, and then glanced up. Leo and Paige orbed upstairs as Piper and Phoebe ran to the room. Dee turned around just as they busted through the door. She was caught by surprise, standing there with nothing but a bra and a pair of boxers on, holding onto a shirt.

"Dee!" Phoebe yelled as she ran and hugged her.

"Not that I know you guys are happy to see me, but can't I get dressed first?" Dee asked.

"OH! Sorry… Come downstairs when you're done."

            Phoebe motioned everyone out the room. Dee began to question her thoughts again. 'Their concern must be great enough to barge into my room like that, and Phoebe hug did feel heartfelt. But I saw them talking. I don't know, just get dressed and go downstairs before they suspect anything.' She turned around, and put on some old shorts and the shirt she was holding. A few minutes later, she walked downstairs, grabbed a near by chair and sat down in the living room with the others.

"So…" Phoebe started her off.

"Sooo, what?" Dee replied.

"Oh, you know, you-being-knocked-unconscious,-shimmered-down-to-the-underworld,-and-returning-as-if-nothing-happened, kind of so." Piper rattled off. Dee cleared her throat.

"Oh that. Umm… my dad just said that you guys were evil and that I should join his side."

"That's it?"

"Yeah…"

"That simple?"

"Yep…"

"Nothing else?"

"If I say yes, will you ask if that's my final answer?"

            Everyone except Piper let out a small laugh, which was soon taken back by Piper's glare. Leo ran his hand through his hair, hugged Piper slightly.

"I think what Piper's trying to get at, is why he'd go through all the trouble of kidnapping you, and then just letting you go." Paige spoke up.

"I don't know. Why did he knock up my mom? Why didn't he come get me before? Why do I have to be half-demon, instead of an average kid? All the "whys" in the world, and not a single logical explanation."

"Geez, sorry."

"It's not your fault." Dee said sounding a little ticked off. "Look, it's 4 AM, and I'd like to go to sleep. Are we finished with the questions?"

"Umm… yeah. Although one of else will have to watch you at all times. He still has about 20 hours to pull something, and we can't take the chance." Leo responded.

            Everyone looked around, trying to avoid being chosen. They knew it had to be done, but who really wanted to watch someone sleep at 4 AM?

"I'll take the first shift. You guys got stuff to do tomorrow anyway." Phoebe said.

"Okay" Everyone agreed. Dee shimmered back upstairs.

"Does anyone else think that this is a little weird? I mean, it can't be this easy. She's kidnapped, and then returned without a scratch? Maybe he can control her mind, you know, and make her choose evil." Piper questioned.

"Don't worry about it Piper. Her decision has to come from the heart, other wise it wouldn't count." Leo said, trying to calm her down.

"I'll be upstairs I guess." Phoebe said as she began climbing the stairs. She was thrown into a premonition.

****

Phoebe and Paige were holding down Dee, while Piper held a dagger above Dee's stomach. She drove it down, and killed Dee.

"It didn't work, she'd dead." Piper said

****

            The sisters and Leo had rushed to Phoebe.

"What did you see?" Piper asked.

"We were holding Dee down, and you stabbed her. Dee died but you said 'it didn't work, she's dead'. It was like we weren't trying to kill her, but save her from something." Phoebe explained.

"That makes no sense. When you stab someone, you usually are trying to kill them." Paige said with a confused face.

"Unless you're trying to take something from that person, like a demon, or a power." Phoebe blurted out.

"Can you check for that or something?" Paige asked.

"I have an idea actually." Phoebe said, and ran upstairs.

            Phoebe entered Dee's room, and woke her up.

"Dee, I need you to get up, and come back downstairs. Things have changed a little bit."

            Dee slowly got out of bed, rubbing her eyes, and followed Phoebe to the kitchen. Piper, Paige, and Leo looked at each other, and walked in the kitchen after them. When they got there, Dee was sitting at the table; half sleep and Phoebe had just set a test tube and a small bottle on the table.

"Pheebs, honey, what are you doing?" Piper asked.

"I had picked this up a while ago, and now is a great time to use it." Phoebe said as she sat down at the table. "I need to see your finger"

"Huh?" Dee looked at her strangely.

"Let me just see your finger."

"Ow… Why did you prick me?"

"I needed some of your blood."

"Yes, that makes sense."

"Just drop some of the blood into the test tube."

            Dee placed her finger over the test tube, and a few drops splattered in. Phoebe took the tube, and dropped in some of the liquid out of the small bottle.

"Okay, a little shake…" Phoebe muttered to herself. She looked up to see four confused faces staring back at her. "Maybe I should explain a little more. This'll turn red if there's evil has taken over her body, and blue if not. Okay, so let's look at this."

            Everyone leaned in to see the bottle.

"Pheebs, that looks kind of purplish." Paige commented.

"It does, doesn't it? Oh well, maybe I was wrong." Phoebe said looking at it side ways.

"Hello? Child here with bleeding finger, and no clue what you're talking about."

"I had a premonition, and I thought maybe you were infested with evil." Phoebe said casually, although still preoccupied.

"Thanks… I can see the love flowing through this room."

            Dee got up, and began walking back upstairs. The rest of them remained in the kitchen looking at each other. Then they heard a noise coming from the living room, more like a thud.


	5. Xellos?

            They rushed into the living to see Dee at the bottom of the staircase. She was unconscious. Leo ran over and checked her pulse.

"She's fine."

"What do you mean 'fine'? When you find someone on the floor, unconscious, you call that fine?!?" Piper freaked out.

"I mean, that she's still alive, and wasn't hurt."

"So, she's 'fine', walks out the room, and then falls down the stairs?"

"Guys! Calm down!" Phoebe yelled. "Leo, take Dee upstairs and tuck her into her bed. I'll be up in a minute to watch her. Piper, go to bed. Paige, you can go to sleep too. When you guys wake up tomorrow, we'll worry about it."

            Everyone looked at Phoebe. Leo picked up Dee, and orbed her upstairs. Piper and Paige also headed upstairs. Phoebe looked around, shut off the lights, and went upstairs to Dee's room.

About six hours later, Dee woke up in her bed, with a slight headache. She looked up to see Phoebe sleeping in the rocking chair. She glanced at the clock to see it strike 10.

"Oh man, I missed Recess this morning." Dee said slowly getting out of bed. She walked about two steps when she collapsed in pain. Phoebe awakened at the sound, and rushed to Dee.

"What happened?"

"I really don't feel good."

            Phoebe helped Dee back into her bed.

"My stomach feels like it's being eaten away and there's this sharp pain in my side."

"Don't worry about it. You'll feel better soon. I'll be right back."

Dee curled up into a ball as Phoebe walked out of the room and jogged down the stairs to the kitchen. Piper was at the table sipping coffee, while looking out the window. She looked at Phoebe as she walked in.

"Something wrong, Pheebs?"

"Dee doesn't feel good. She said that there's this sharp pain in her side, and something like cramps."

"Did you give her some Midol?"

"I doubt this she's on her period."

"That would explain her crabbiness."

"Piper, that's not funny. I think something's seriously wrong with her."

"I know there is."

"Piper…" Phoebe said, getting a little frustrated.

            Just then, Leo orbed in.

"Anything new?" Leo asked.

"She collapsed trying to walk out the room and she's complaining of some kind of pain." Phoebe spoke up.

"What? Is she ok?"

"I'm not sure. I think this has something to do with last night."

"I think you're right."

"I got an idea. Let's go ask her exactly what happened." Piper chimed in.

            Just then, Cole shimmered in. Phoebe walked over and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and peered into her eyes. It had been a few days since they had last seen each other.

"So, what's up?" Cole said.

            Piper put her coffee down, got up, and headed upstairs, with Leo right behind her.

"I'll fill you in later, but now I got to go check on Dee."

"Dee?"

            Phoebe smiled, and walked out the kitchen. Cole stood there with a confused face, and ran up stairs after her. Upstairs, everyone except Paige crowded into Dee's room.

"Okay Dee, you're going to have to tell else exactly what happened last night." Piper said calmly.

"Alright… I woke up chained to some bed. My dad walked in with this other demon. He was going on about how you guys were the true evil, and were just using me. Then that other demon showed me you guys all sitting on the couch, talking about how you were just being nice because you wanted me on the side of good. Then, he let me go and told me I'd die if I didn't choose his side."

            You could hear the raising anger in Dee's voice, how she felt betrayed by them. Everyone took a moment to process this and looked back a Dee.

"When were we on the couch talking about you?" Leo asked.

"Last night, after I was kidnapped."

"That can't be right. I was 'up there', so I couldn't have been on the couch."

"Yeah, and me and Paige were upstairs looking at the Book of Shadows." Phoebe commented. "We never talked about you. And we do care about you. Obviously that demon was messing with your mind. What was his name?"

"Umm… don't remember exactly, although it wasn't a him, it was a her."

"Xellos…" Cole said.

"Yeah, that's it, Xellos."

            Everyone looked at Cole, as Paige walked in.

"Hey." Paige said.

"Xellos would show people false things so they would turn their backs on each other." Cole added.

"I'll go look her up in the BOS." Phoebe said.

            Just then, Dee grabbed her stomach and moaned.

"What's wrong?" Piper asked.

"I really don't feel good. It really hurts…"

"Book of Shadows." Paige held out hand to see a thick book land in them. She started flipping through the pages looking for "Xellos".

"Can't you heal her or something Leo?" Phoebe asked, looking slightly worried.

"I'll try." Leo held out his hands, and blue lights swirled out of them. "I don't know what's wrong, but it's nothing I can heal."

"Ah-ha" Paige announced. "Here it is. 'Xellos: A demon that can make other's see things that aren't really happening. It is meant to make the person to turn their back on the people, and do what she wishes. Secretly, she releases a swarm into the victim's system, killing them within 24 hours of infestation unless they comply, as a little insurance for her plans to succeed.' Interesting… So why'd we look her up?"

"Dee came into contact with Xellos. That's what happening. I knew this wasn't that simple." Piper explained.

Dee curled up into a ball, and rolled over before they could ask any more questions. She was feeling light headed and fell asleep. About four hours later, Phoebe and Cole came to check on her.

"Hey, you awake?" Phoebe asked.

"Kind of…"

"How are you feeling?"

"The same yet a little worse."

"Drink this."

            Phoebe handed Dee a cup with something in it. Dee dipped her finger in it, and tasted it. Her face twitched at the taste. She handed the glass back to Phoebe.

"Oh no… That tastes horrible. I'd rather suffer."

"You've got to be kidding. Just drink it, and don't think of the taste."

"I'm not drinking that…"

"Come on."

"Nope."

"For me?"

"How about you just drink it?"

"Argh… you enjoy being difficult don't you?"

"Every minute." Dee grinned.

"That's it, Cole, hold her down."

"What?" Dee and Cole questioned at the same time.

"Just hold her down." Phoebe said, looking at Cole. She turned back to Dee, "You're going to drink this rather you like it or not."

            Cole glanced at Phoebe one last time, then straddled himself on top of Dee, and pinned her to the bed. Phoebe pinched Dee's nose closed and waited for her to take a breath out of her mouth. She then shoved in some of the potion into Dee's mouth, and covered her mouth quickly.

"I figure you have to breathe sometime, so you'll have to swallowed that first." Phoebe announced, sounding slightly cocky.

            Phoebe was right. About 30 seconds later, Dee swallowed it. Phoebe waited a little while before letting her go to make sure it was all gone.

"That was just cruel." Dee commented, trying to cough out the remains.

"I'm not going to let you die because it's not cherry flavored. Are we going to have to do this again, or are you going to drink the rest of by yourself?"

"Geez… I'll drink it, but only if he gets off of me." Dee motioned towards Cole who was still on top of her.

"Oh sorry" Cole said as he got off her.

            Dee took the cup and drank the rest with a face of disliking.

"There, wasn't that tasty?" Phoebe asked.

"Define tasty."

"I'll be back later. Get some rest."

            Phoebe kissed Dee on the forehead and left with Cole trailing behind her. Dee rolled over to the side. The potion hadn't helped much considering she was still in pain. As Phoebe entered the kitchen, she dipped her finger into the remains of the potion and tasted it.

"Ugh… Piper, have you tasted this?"

"No… I'm not the one sick, remember?"

"It tastes horrible. I can't believe I made her drink this."

"You made her?"

"You know, plug the nose, drink or don't breathe kind of thing."

"Yeash…"

"Well, it's not my fault she wouldn't drink it."

            Phoebe smiled, and sat down at the table. Piper, smiled looking at Phoebe, remembering the time Prue and herself did that to Phoebe. She realized how much Phoebe had grown.


	6. *Her heart must be pure*

"Hey Pheebs, remember that store you took me to with all the magic stuff?" Paige asked as she walked in.

"Yeah… What about it?"

"Do you think they might have anything to get rid of that swarm?"

"Umm… possibly. I'll drive."

            Phoebe grabbed the keys, and they left the house. They drove down to the shop, which was about 20 minutes from their house. They pulled up and jumped out. They entered the small store on the corner.

"Good afternoon, can I help you?" an elderly man asked.

"Yeah, we're looking for something that'll umm… remove a swarm of evil from your body. But we don't have the time to brew anything."

"Hmm…" The man walked behind the front counter and crouched down. He returned a minute later with a knife. "This should do the trick."

He handed it to Phoebe. Phoebe just starred at it for a while. She knew she had seen it before, and it took a while before she realized it was the same one from her premonition.

"How exactly does it work?" she asked once she snapped out of it.

"When you stab it into the person's body, the swarm of evil is abstracted into the peril at the top. Although, the person's heart must be pure, or the peril will suck all of the evil out of them, killing them in the end."

"Oh…"

            After paying the man for it, they left the store and headed home.

"That's it Paige."

"That's what?"

"How she died, in my premonition. She must not believe that the good side is the right side."

"Great… So we have about three hours to convince her it is or she dies."

            Phoebe sped home the rest of the way.

"You guys find anything?" Piper asked as she stepped out of the kitchen, into the living room.

"I think she's going to turn to the side of evil." Phoebe said slightly pissed off.

"What?!?"

"Remember that dagger you stabbed her with in my premonition? It turns out that her heart must be pure from evil for it to work or she dies. And she died, so she must want to be evil."

"Lovely…"

"We have about three hours to convince her to the side of good."

"Then what are you doing still sitting down here?"

"Why me?"

"It's obvious she doesn't like me."

"I could do it…" Paige interrupted. "I mean, I've worked with kids before."

"Okay…" Piper and Phoebe agreed.

            Paige walked up to Dee's room, and knocked.

"Yeah?"

"It's me Paige."

"Come in…"

            Paige walked in to see Dee still in bed, coiled in a ball. She sat down on the bed and placed Dee's head in her lap.

"How you feeling?"

"The same, like crap."

"Stupid question… So…"

"What do you want to know?"

"Well, I didn't want to be that straight forward, but are you going to choose evil or good?"

"I don't know…"

"You don't know?"

"Nope… if I choose good, I'll die. If I choose evil, I live and I'm with my dad."

"Oh… I'm seeing your points. But if you choose good, we can still save you."

"You're giving that choice? 'Choose good and we'll save you?'"

"No, that's not what I meant. We have something that'll save you, but your heart must be pure."

"Oh… ok..."

"Ok, as in I'm going to be good or as in that's nice to know?"

"Ok, that's nice to know…"

"Well then, I don't feel bad to tell you that Piper made a fresh batch of that medicine for you."

"What?!?"

"Bye…"

            Paige moved Dee's head back onto her pillow, got up and left the room. Dee took the sheets and threw them over her head. "_Great, more poison." _ She thought.

****Down in the underworld****

"How's it looking?" Shabneth questioned Xellos.

"Not good… apparently, the witches found a way to save her."

"What?!? Is that possible?"

"Anything is possible with those witches."

"That's it, if she doesn't want to choose evil I'll give her a better deal."

            Shabneth turned around and shimmered away. Mean while, Piper and Phoebe was heading upstairs with more of the medicine. They entered Dee's room to see her crawling on the floor, in the direction of the TV. They rushed over and picked her up.

"Honey, what were you doing?" Phoebe asked, helping her back onto the bed.

"I was trying to reach the remote to the TV. I got tired of sleeping."

"You could've called us…"

"Eh…" Dee glanced over at the flask on her dresser. "That's more of that stuff isn't it?"

"Yeah" Piper snapped quickly. "Something wrong with it?"

"Obviously, you don't sample your food before serving to the people."

"You guys, it can't be that bad." Piper got up and tasted some of it. She cringed at the flavor. "The taste isn't the point, it's that is makes you better."

"Sure…"

"Here." Piper handed Dee the glass.

"That's okay." Dee handed it back.

"Not this again. Look you got to drink it, it's for your own good." Phoebe added.

"So is watching the Discovery channel, but does anyone watch it?"

"That's it, Piper hold her down."

"Go ahead, I'll just pass out this time."

"You wouldn't…"

"Try me…"

            Just then, Shabneth appear in the room. He grabbed Dee, and held her up by her throat. He walked a few steps pinning her to the wall.

"Piper! Freeze Him!" Phoebe yelled.

            Piper threw up her hands and froze him. Dee wiggled out of Shabneth grasp, and dropped to the floor. Shabneth began to unfreeze.

"Dee, hurry up and run!" Phoebe shouted.

"I can't… I can't move."

            Piper attempted to go get Dee, when she and Phoebe abruptly went flying. Shabneth had unfroze, and looked down at Dee. He kicked the pillow in his path out of the way.

"So, what is it I hear about you going to their side of good?" Shabneth queried.

"W-w-why would I do that?"

"To save your life. Maybe it's just too late for you." An energy ball started to form in Shabnerh's hand. "No problem, I'll just finish you off now so no one wins."

"Noo!"

Piper yelled as she jumped in front of the energy ball. It hit her in midair and she hit the ground. She landed on top of Dee's lap, lifeless.

"NO!"

            Dee yelled and shot an energy ball straight at Shabneth. It directly hit him, sending him up in flames. He glanced at his daughter for the last time and said, "You killed your own father. Heh, maybe you are evil enough."

            Dee fainted since she had used the last of her strength. Phoebe rushed to Piper, who was folded over on Dee.

"Piper… Dee… oh god… LEO! LE-OOO!!"

            Leo orbed in, just as Paige ran up stairs.

"Hey, what's all the commotion?" Paige asked.

"Oh no…" Leo had saw Piper lying on the floor.

            He rushed to Piper and healed her. She woke up a few seconds later. She rolled off Dee, sitting up, kind of drunkenly, and peer at Leo. 

"Leo?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"What happened to Dee?"

"She's fine…" Leo replied, after checking Dee's pulse.

"Fine?" Piper questioned, she was obviously irritated by the use of that word in these situations.

"Uh, I mean, she just knocked out for now. That's all. What happened here?"

"Oh, what's his name? Shabneth shimmered in to kill Dee but Piper jumped in front of him, and so Dee killed him after he shot Piper." Phoebe blurted out quickly.

"Are you sure he's dead?" ((Leo))

"Well, if they burn up in smoke before dying, I'd say yes."

            Everyone looked at Dee who had just came around. Piper, who was just helped up, crouched down and hugged her. She finally let go when she asked,

"Are you ok?"

"F-fine…" Dee stammered out. "It still hurts though."

            The grandfather clock dunged. Everyone looked to see it was eleven. There was only one hour left. The sisters all looked at each other.

"Sooo… are we going to use the dagger?" Paige asked after the gauche silence.

"Yeah…" Piper answered. "Get downstairs ready."

            Paige turned around and walked out. Leo lifted Dee back into the bed, and tucked her in. He began to pick up the things that were knocked over during the battle.

"Dagger?" Dee asked, slightly confused on the situation.

"Hey, don't try to change the subject. You still have to drink this." Phoebe reminded her of the potion on the dresser.

"I miss something?" Cole asked as he walked in, seeing the room messed up.

"Ah, Cole, just the man I need. You'll have to pin her down again." Phoebe motioned towards Dee.

"We'd better go." Leo took Piper's hand and led her out.


	7. Do you trust us?

A/N: I've just reread the first few chapters and realized all the spelling errors, and confuse-ment there was. So, I've gone back and revised it, again.

****

            It was now ten minutes to midnight, and Dee was coughing violently now, now and then crying out in pain. Leo was constantly checking on her. Downstairs, the girls were sitting at the table, starring at the dagger. Leo had just walked back in, as Phoebe glanced at the clock.

"How is she?" Paige inquired.

"Not good. Whatever you guys plan on doing, it must be fast."

"We've got to do it. She'll die either way, but this way, she'll have a chance." Piper commented.

"You guys are ready then?"

"Yeah, let me go to talk to her first."

            Piper scooted her chair back, and walked gloomily out of the kitchen. The remaining three just watched her leave. Phoebe flipped her hair back with her hand.

"We're doing the right thing, right?"

            Piper now was upstairs in Dee's room. She looked at the half empty bottle by Dee's bed. The potion didn't affect the pain anymore. She looked out the window into the black sky. She was trying to think of the words she wanted to say. Her thoughts were interrupted by Dee's voice.

"Piper?"

"Yeah, it's me." Piper walked over to the bed and sat down. She picked up a damp cloth and wiped Dee's head.

"I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time. It's just…"

"Shh… you got to save your strength."

"But I…"

"Shh. I must ask… do you trust us?"

"I uh…" Dee began to cough more violently. She was going to die any minute. She couldn't finish the sentence.

"LEO!" Leo orbed in.

"Take her downstairs, we've got to do this now."

            Leo nodded, picked up Dee, and orbed down. Piper walked out of the room, and quickly marched down the stairs. She speedily entered the kitchen. Dee was lying on the table; Phoebe was talking softly into her ear, trying to soothe her pain, as Paige just gazed at the dagger. Paige and Phoebe glanced up at Piper when she walked in. Piper looked Phoebe, her eyes telling Phoebe they had to start. Phoebe turned back to Dee who was in a tight ball.

"Dee, it's time. You're going to have to believe in us that we're doing the right thing." Phoebe looked at her sisters, searching for more to say. She realized there wasn't and looked at Paige. "Grab her feet. She isn't going to be able to stay still ." Paige did as Phoebe instructed, despite Dee's slight kicks for freedom. "I'll hold her hands. Piper, get her shirt." Piper grabbed some scissors and cut Dee's shirt far up enough to expose her stomach and a little of her abs. Dee was now squirming in their grip, breathing more rapidly. Piper picked up the dagger, and held it cautiously above Dee's stomach. She looked her two sisters, and drove it in. Dee took one swift breath in but didn't exhale. The orb on top of the dagger began to glow as a black mist began to fill it. The sisters and Leo watched as it collected the mist. It stopped glowing as soon as the mist stopped gathering. They quickly looked at Dee, for she had stopped struggling against them a while ago. Her eyes were pure white; starring straight at the ceiling.

"No…" Piper quietly said. She collapsed into Phoebe's arms. Paige backed up toward her sisters.

****

TBC…


	8. Exhale?

            Dee's eyes were fixated on the ceiling; the dagger was still pierced in her stomach. The three sisters, huddled together, just starred at her in shock. Leo dropped his head down, his hands on the stove, only making eye contact at the clock. There was nothing but silence… pure silence. There was a sudden exhale from Dee. The four grieving souls in the room quickly turned their full attention to Dee. They would've sworn they heard and saw her exhale.

"Did she just…" Paige started to say.

"Breathe?" Phoebe finished Paige's sentence

            Dee began to breathe unexpectedly, inhaling fast and exhaling slowly, with difficulty. The sisters rushed over to her. She was alive, but her breathing was troubled, she was dying. Paige pulled the dagger from her stomach, and set it down on the counter. Piper was too concerned to notice the blood dripping onto her countertop from the dagger, because normally she would have freaked seeing that messing up her precious kitchen.

"LEO, GET OVER HERE!" Piper yelled, grasping Dee's hand. Leo ran over to her and began to heal her. His hands began to glow a goldish color. The blood disappeared, and the wound healed. Dee's eyes blinked and then rolled over to see people standing beside her. She raised her hand to her head, remembering the events of the night, all flooding back to her. The horrible tasting medicine, her father, Piper saving her, the dagger…

Piper hugged her tight, added on by Phoebe and Paige around her. Dee began to cough, but they ignored it. She was alive and that's all that mattered. After about two minutes of hugging, the sisters backed off Dee. She tried to sit up, but fell back down, being caught by Leo.

"Oh no, don't even move. Leo will take you upstairs." Piper said, a smile on her face.

"Heh, still telling me what to do." Dee said, and began to cough.

"Don't even think about going to sleep. You've got to take some Nyquil for that cough." Phoebe chimed in.

"I almost die, and when I come back, I'm greeted with horrible tasting medicine. At least it's not Piper's."

"Hey!" Piper objected.

"Dee's kind of right, your potion didn't taste that good." Leo commented. Piper glared at him.

"Leo, if you want to live, orbed us up to my room before she kills you." Dee said.

"Good idea." Leo said, quickly picked up Dee, and orbed upstairs.

****

A/N:

I know this chapter was short, but I wanted to cut it off here. There'll be one last chapter. And for those who don't know, "Nyquil" is a medicine with a really horrible taste. Eww… Nyquil.


	9. Warm and Tingly

            The Charmed ones all went to sleep after Leo took Dee upstairs. He was called back 'up there' a few minutes later, and left. It was like a regular morning the next day, beside the fact Dee was there. Phoebe and Paige were still asleep because it was only 7:30 and Piper was, of course, in the kitchen making coffee. Dee had woken up and gone downstairs for something to drink. She was startled to hear Piper making eggs, since she expected to be the only one up. She walked into the kitchen, and sat down at the table.

"Hey…" Dee said to Piper as she sat down.

"Good morning, how you feeling?" Piper replied.

"Ok… kind of weird."

"Weird, how?" Piper asked with alarm in her voice; she turned off the stove and walked over next to Dee. She felt Dee's forehead.

"I don't mean I feel sick. It's just…"

"Just…"

"Just this feeling of being… on the side of good. It's like a warm and tingly feeling."

Piper laughed. "Oh, you'll get use to that. Sure, it sucks at some moments but it over all beats evil."

"I wonder what I do now…" Dee pondered.

"Got question for you."

"Shoot…"

"What convinced you to choose good? Because last night, you didn't seem to care either way."

"Oh, umm…" Dee looked down at the table and then looked up again. "When you jumped in front of that energy ball, I thought that, umm… if my own father would try and kill me, that the side of evil wasn't the way. So I guess you did." Dee finished, looking away. Piper's heart melted. She had influenced this girl who seemed to resent her. Because of what she did, Dee had decided to choose good, not evil.

"So, all I had to was sacrifice my life for you to believe me." Piper said sarcastically, laughing.

"I just didn't want to see you die…"

"Oh, so you _do_ care."

"I didn't say that." Dee replied immediately, trying to pretend she didn't.

"Uh-huh, right." Piper grinned, got up, and got some coffee. Dee smiled and glanced out the window.

            Later on, everyone eventually got up, and about there normal morning routine. Phoebe researching something on her laptop, Paige rushing to get to her job on time for once, Piper looking at some papers from P3, and Dee watching some TV. Leo orbed in, in front of Dee.

"Hey." Leo said, looking at Dee.

"Hey…" Dee said back, not paying much attention. "What's up?"

"Hey honey." Piper said, walking into the living room, seeing Leo. She walked over and kissed him.

"Oh, Dee, the elders wanted to see you." Leo said, breaking off the kiss.

"Huh?" Dee said, breaking her concentration on the TV, "What for?"

"They wanted to discuss what would happen to you."

"Mmm… this'll be fun." Dee stood up and went towards Leo. "I guess I'll see you guys around then." Leo orbed him and Dee 'up there'.

****

            I guess this is the end of this story. I must thank everyone who read and review this story. I might write an epilogue, but that remains to be seen. Wow… this is kind of depressing writing the end of this story, *tear*. Maybe I'll write another story with Dee…


	10. "You're out of soda again."

            It had been about two weeks since Dee had stay at left to see the Elders. Leo and the girls had finished a huge dinner earlier, and were still sitting in the living room talking. Leo and Piper were sitting in a chair together, where Paige and Phoebe were sharing the couch. The antique grandfather clock rung out as it struck twelve. The four of them looked up and realized how late it was.

"It's midnight? I'm going to die at work tomorrow." Paige sighed.

"That last time we were all up at midnight together, it was because of Dee." Piper reminisced.

"Yeah, what happen with her and the Elders?" Phoebe asked Leo.

"I'm not sure. When we went up, I had to leave for another charge." Leo responded.

"Did she have any relatives?"

"Nope…"

"Do you think she's with Children's Services?" Paige asked.

"No, she's not, but you're out of soda again." A voice said from behind them. Everyone turned around to see Dee standing there, drinking a can of orange soda.

"Dee?" Piper said as she got up and hugged her.

"The name hasn't changed." Dee managed to mumble through Piper's tight hug. Phoebe and Paige got a chance to hug her too. They sat down together on the couch, and Piper returned to Leo.

"So, what happened?" Phoebe asked, kind of excited.

"The elders found out I chose the side of good. They want me to get rid of my demonic powers, but shimmering is so much faster than orbing."

"Hey!" Leo said.

"No offense, but it looks cooler too."

"What happen to your blue highlights?" Paige asked, since she had liked them before. Dee ran her fingers through her hair.

"The school made me dye my hair totally black. They're strict about being yourself… it's like boot camp."

"School?" Piper inquired.

"Yeah, they…" Dee looking up, "decided I should still go to school, so they sent me to this upscale academy."

"So, how did you get out and come here?" Piper asked.

"Oh, I shimmer out sometimes at night. They never know because my friend Erica always signals me back."

"Erica?" Paige asked.

"Another witch…"

"A rebel I see. Reminds me of my younger self." Phoebe said with a grin.

"Yeah, but Grams would catch you and you would pay." Piper said, laughing a little. "Oh, what was I thinking? Did you want something to eat or drink? How about some of that medicine?" Piper was now fully laughing.

"Oh, someone's a little cocky." Phoebe said grabbing and throwing a pillow at Piper. Piper froze it in midair, but didn't see Dee's pillow coming. It hit her in the head, and dropped to the floor. Piper picked it up and threw it back at them, only for it to curve head towards Paige.

"Ah!" Paige shrieked and orbed out and in. Her eyes full of shock, she tossed a pillow at Piper.

"Leo!" Piper called, but Leo orbed without her, leaving her alone in the chair for the pillow hit her.

            Leo reappeared next to the chair, where Piper hit him with a pillow. Piper and Leo, against his will, joined together and fought Phoebe, Paige, and Dee for about an hour. Of course it was unfair, but who cared? They stayed up and talked some more until Dee fell asleep on the couch. Leo had orbed Dee back to the academy.

"I know the elders will have fun handling that one." Piper said, heading upstairs.

"Yep…" Phoebe said, turning off the lights.

****

That'll end this story. Maybe I'll write a fanfic with Dee at her new school? I don't know…


End file.
